Those who retire early because of discomfort save considerably less, researchers find.

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TUESDAY, Feb. 14, 2012 (HealthDay News)
— Most people forced to retire early because of back problems
face ongoing financial struggles, a new study finds.

Not only does early retirement
reduce immediate work income, it also affects long-term financial health by
significantly reducing the ability to accumulate wealth, said the researchers
at the University of Sydney in Australia.

They analyzed data from 147 people, ages 45 to 64, who had to
retire due to back problems, 168 people with back problems who worked
part-time, and 356 people who had full-time jobs and back problems.

The researchers concluded that nearly all people with full-time
jobs and no health problems will accumulate some wealth by the time they're 65,
compared with 75 to 85 percent of those who have to stop working early due to
back problems.

Men ages 45 to 54 who retire early due to back problems would have
a median value of wealth of just over $5,400 (in U.S. dollars) by age 65. This
would generate an annuity of only $314 per year.

In comparison, men ages 45 to 54 who remain in the labor force full
time would have over $366,00 of wealth when they retire at 65, which would
generate an annuity of $21,000 a year.

Among women, the median wealth value at age 65 would be almost
$21,700 (annuity value of about $1,100) for those who retired early due to back
problems and $256,500 (annuity value of almost $13,000) for those who worked
full time until retirement age.

The study was published recently in the journal Pain.

"Relative to those who retired early due to other health
problems, there are more than twice as many people who have retired early due
to back problems who are estimated to have no savings by the time they reach
the traditional retirement age of 65," said lead investigator Professor
Deborah Schofield, chair of health economics at the National Health and Medical
Research Council Clinical Trials Center and Sydney School of Public Health,
University of Sydney.

"For most of the age and sex groups analyzed, even those who
reported back pain and were
working full time accumulated less wealth than full-time workers who suffered
no chronic health conditions," she added in a university news release.

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